Drone arm folding/locking mechanism

A drone, comprising:

• a body:
• a first arm rotatably coupled to the body to rotate between an extended position and a retracted position:
• a first coupling mechanism operable to retain the first arm in its extended position, the first coupling mechanism including a first latch being movable from an engaged position in which the first arm is held in its extended position and a release position in which the first arm is free to move between its extended position and its retracted position, the first latch being biased towards its engaged position;
• a second arm rotatably coupled to the body to rotate between an extended position and a retracted position;
• and
• a second coupling mechanism operable to retain the second arm in its extended position, the second coupling mechanism including a second latch being movable from an engaged position in which the second arm is held in its extended position and a release position in which the second arm is free to move between its extended position and its retracted position, the second latch being biased towards its engaged position, and
• wherein the first latch is moveable between a partially engaged position in which the first latch retains the first arm in its extended position and a fully engaged position, the first latch including a visual feature that is aligned with a corresponding visual feature on the first arm when the first latch is in the fully engaged position.

A drone, comprising:

• a body:
• a first arm rotatably coupled to the body to rotate between an extended position and a retracted position;
• a first coupling mechanism operable to retain the first arm in its extended position, the first coupling mechanism including a first latch being movable from an engaged position in which the first arm is held in its extended position and a release position in which the first arm is free to move between its extended position and its retracted position, the first latch being biased towards its engaged position;
• a second arm rotatably coupled to the body to rotate between an extended position and a retracted position;
• and
• a second coupling mechanism operable to retain the second arm in its extended position, the second coupling mechanism including a second latch being movable from an engaged position in which the second arm is held in its extended position and a release position in which the second arm is free to move between its extended position and its retracted position, the second latch being biased towards its engaged position,
• wherein the first coupling mechanism includes a lock that holds the first latch in its release position, the first latch being released from the lock by rotation of the first arm into its extended position,
• wherein the first latch includes a first latch handle and the second latch includes a second latch handle, the first latch handle and the second latch handle rotating away from each other when the first and second latches are moved from their respective release positions into their respective engaged positions, and
• wherein the first latch handle includes a visual feature that is aligned with a corresponding visual feature on the first arm when the first latch handle is rotated into a fully engaged position, and the second latch handle includes a visual feature that is aligned with a corresponding visual feature on the second arm when the second latch handle is rotated into a fully engaged position.

A coupling mechanism for a drone, comprising:

• a fixed portion for coupling to the drone;
• a movable portion rotatably coupled to the fixed portion and being movable between an extended position and a retracted position, the movable portion being configured to receive an arm of the drone;
• and
• a coupling mechanism operable to retain the movable portion in its extended position, the coupling mechanism including a latch being movable from an engaged position in which the movable portion is held in its extended position and a release position in which the movable portion is free to move between its extended position and its retracted position, the latch being biased towards its engaged position,
• wherein the coupling mechanism includes a lock that holds the latch in its release position, the latch being released from the lock by rotation of the movable portion into its extended position,
• wherein the release of the latch engages a latch handle with a cam on the movable portion to hold the movable portion in its extended position,
• wherein the latch handle is further movable into a position in which the latch handle fully engages the cam, and
• wherein the latch handle includes a visual feature that is aligned with a corresponding visual feature on the arm when the latch handle fully engages the cam.

A drone, comprising:

• a body;
• an arm rotatably coupled to the body to rotate between an extended position and a retracted position;
• and
• a coupling mechanism operable to retain the arm in its extended position, the coupling mechanism including a latch being movable from an engaged position in which the arm is held in its extended position and a release position in which the arm is free to move between its extended position and its retracted position, the latch being biased towards its engaged position,
• wherein the latch includes a visual feature that is aligned with a corresponding visual feature on the arm when the latch is fully engaged.